Petrol or diesel?
It took a long time for diesel cars to become popular in the UK, sales increases coming about largely because of tax incentives for fleet drivers. Until recently the rise of diesel seemed unstoppable, then Volkswagen was caught being dishonest and suddenly petrol-engined cars are back in favour once more. If you’re confused as to which way to go, read on… The driving experience Diesel cars are now so refined that a clattery engine is no longer a valid reason for avoiding one. What makes them so appealing is the extra muscle they provide; a diesel engine is inherently more torquey than a petrol one and it’s torque that gives you that effortless acceleration. As a result diesel cars are ideal for towing and they’re also perfect motorway cruisers because the engines don’t have to work as hard at high speeds. Indeed, it’s hard to think of a reason to avoid buying a diesel from a driving point of view, apart from the fact that they don’t rev like a petrol engine does – or sound as great at the redline. However, diesels do take longer to warm up, so if you do mainly short journeys you might find that in the winter the engine never gets warm and as a result the heater never works. That might seem annoying but it’s worse than that because most fuel consumption and engine wear takes place when an engine is cold.